Impulse relay



March 23, 1954 Filed July 10, 1951 s. F. E. MEYER 2,673,265

IMPULSE RELAY 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 WE ATTORNEY s. i-. E. MEYER March 23, 1954 IMPULSE RELAY Filed July 10, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR SVE/V FRED/71K ERA/ 4K0 MEYER,

ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 23, 1954 IMIPULSE RELAY Sven Fredrik Erhard Meyer, Stockholm, Sweden, assignor of one-half to Ernst Carl Andrae,

Stockholm, Sweden Application July 10, 1951, Serial No. 236,043

The present invention relates to an impulse relay controlled by an electromagnet, with a movably arranged contact member located within a tube preferably of inorganic glass filled with a gaseous medium such as hydrogen, or evacuated, placed in a holder and having closed ends .each of which is provided with a, contact device, such as a contact fluid, and electrode terminals, the said contact member alternately making or breaking the electric connection between the two said contact devices for the purpose of opening or closing a circuit connected thereto. The invention is mainly characterized by that the contact controlling member which comprises a container pivotally mounted in the tube holder consists of a non-magnetic material which is electrically conductive, and encloses a magnetically actuated control bar displaceably mounted in the said holder and consisting, for example, of iron wire or the like carrying contact arms at its two ends which latter effect the connection between the contact devices in the operating position of the relay apparatus. Hereafter, operating position implies the position in which the electromagnet is under current, the stationary position is the position in which the electromagnet is currentless, the contact position is the position in which the contact arms, through the contact member, connect the contact devices with the contact fluid and connected electrodes, here jointly designated the bottom contacts, for closing a circuit connected to them, whilst the breaking position denotes the opposite position.

Arrangements have previously been proposed by the inventor amongst other in which, for example, two magnets, one of which consists of a fixed-or variable position permanent magnet, were actuated by a contact bar of magnetizable material by means of which a circuit can be opened or closed; in another arrangement of this kind, likewise proposed by the inventor, the position of a contact bar was controlled by an electromagnet, whereby the contact bar, the two end positions of which were bent, was attracted by the current-carrying magnet at its middle part which was longer relatively to the bent end portions, in a direction away from the bottom contacts, and fell back again when the electromagnet became currentless, with the end portions downwards for example, so that the latter dipped into the contact fluid of the bottom contacts and closed a circuit connected thereto; when the electromagnet was again placed under current, the contact bar was once more attracted by the magnet and dropped down, breaking the magnetic circuit in 5 Claims. (Cl. 200-112) the reverse direction so that the two end portions were now turned upwards or in the direction away from the bottom contacts, the alternate change of position of the contact bar was produced mainly by the fact that on being magnetically attracted, it was compelled to follow the inner wall of the enclosing tube whereby it had to turn or rotate around its longitudinal axis; when dropping down directly, however, the contact bar did not execute such a rotary movement since it was no longer compelled to follow the inner wall of the tube.

With these and other hitherto known arrangements a connected operating circuit could only be closed after the magnetic force had ceased to act on the contact bar, either by the local withdrawal or removal of the permanent magnet or by cutting off the current from the active electromagnet. In practice, this has often been found to represent a disadvantage, particularly in cases where it was necessary to close an operating circuit immediately and at the same moment in which the electromagnetic impulse was received.

It is now the purpose of the present invention to overcome this disadvantage amongst other things, whilst further progress has been made, based on the investigations of the inventor during his work with similar switches and magnetic relays. The relay arrangement according to the invention is reliable and can be controlled with very small controlling impulses and can be reproduced with certainty.

Further characteristics of the arrangement according to the invention will appear from the description of some forms of construction shown in the accompanying drawing by way of example. Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4 show a relay arrangement according to the invention in cross-section and in four difierent working positions, whereby Figs. 1 and 3 illustrate a relay arrangement in the operating position and Figs. 2 and 4 in the stationary position, Fig. 1 in the initial or breaking position, Fig. 2 in the position at the moment of contact, Fig. 3 in the closed contact position and Fig. 4 in the position at the moment of breaking. Fig. 5 shows the relay arrangement in section with a series-connected auxiliary winding for magnetizing the contact bar, Figs. 6 and '7 shows in two sections the contact controlling member itself with the contact bar and contact arms, and Figs. 7 and 8 are sections of a relay arrangement with delayed closing and opening of the contacts, constituting an alternating relay.

Within a tubular container l of inorganic glass for example, the two closed ends of which are annularly expanded and provided with bottom contacts 6, 1, consisting of inserted electrodes 8, 9, covered with a contact fluid such as mercury, a pivotally movable container 2 of a non-magnetic, electrically conductive material is arranged and encloses a control bar 3 forming a magnet core or armature of magnetizable material such as iron wire or the like which is mounted for movement within the container 2 and to which container 2 contact arms are attached at both ends on one side, the details 2, 3 and 5 constituting a contact controlling member as a unit. Outside the holder I an electromagnet 4 is arranged the core of which is divided in two fields on each pole side. The system of operation of the relay arrangement is substantially as follows:

In the stationary and breaking position shown in Fig. 1 the electromagnet 4 is currentless and the control bar 3 lies at the lower end of its movable container 2, whilst the contact arms 5 at the opposite, higher end of the container 2 are raised from the mercury in the bottom contacts 6 and 1.

When the electromagnet 4 is under current a magnetic field is formed by which the control bar 3 is immediately attracted, whereupon it turns the container 2 a half-revolution for example, or for such a distance that the control bar 3 has been moved as close to the magnet or into its magnetic field as the container 2 and the tube holder I permit, and the contact arms 5 will then make connection with the mercury in the bottom contacts 6, I and establish a conductive connection through the container 2 between the electrodes 8 and 9 and thereby immediately close an operating circuit connected thereto (Fig. 2). If the electromagnet 4 again becomes currentless after the impulse has been given, the magnetic attraction exerted on the control bar 3 will cease and the control bar 3 will slide inside the container 2, which retains its position owing to friction, due to its own weight and will reach the opposite, lower end of the container 2 at which the contact arms 5 are located, thereby locking the relay arrangement in the operating position (Fig. 3).

As soon as the electromagnet 4 is once more under current and gives out its next magnetic impulse, the control bar 3 will again be attracted and will thereby turn its container 2 (in the direction of the arrow: Fig. 3) back to its initial position whereupon the ends of the container 2 provided with the contact arms 5 will be raised by the lifting movement of the control bar 3, and their connection with the mercury in the bottom contacts 6, I, and therefore the operating circuit through the electrodes 8, 9, will once more be immediately broken. The control bar 3 will slide down to the lower end of its container 2 as soon as the electromagnet 4 again becomes currentless and will lock the relay arrangement in the breaking position. Thus, it is the control bar 3 which on being actuated by a magnetic impulse immediately raises the end of the container 2 at which it is located at the moment of the impulse and thus compels its container 2 to turn to a corresponding extent since the container 2 cannot move Within the tube holder 1 but can only alter its position by rotation around its own imaginary longitudinal axis.

In view of the fact that it may be desirable in certain cases to delay the opening and closing of the operating circuit through the electrodes l, 9 until the electromagnet 4 is currentless again, the control bar 3 and contact arms 5 are constructed as a unitary contact member (3 in Figs. 7 and 8), in which case the arrangement constitutes an alternating relay.

The invention is not limited, of course, to the forms of construction described here and shown in the drawings, but it may be modified in various ways as regards its details without departing from the basic principle or exceeding the scope of the invention. The container 2 may be mounted at its two ends on two spindles arranged in the geometrical axis of the holder I, in which case mounting should be carried out with suflicient friction so that the latter can counteract the weight of the control bar 3; two magnet coils may be provided in order to produce two magnetic fields acting alternately on the control bar 3 in its two positions; the contact fluid may be replaced by fixed, solid contacts, for example.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent, is:

l. A current impulse relay comprising, a closed tubular container having at least two ends, stationary contact means in each end of said tube, an open ended non-magnetic container rotatably mounted in said tubular container, said open ended container being elongated in transverse cross-section and displaceably containing a longitudinally disposed magnetically actuated control bar, a movable contact arm connected for actuation in response to the position of said control bar, electromagnetic means in close proximity to said tubular container and operable upon energization to move said control bar within said open ended container and rotate said open ended container to a first position to cause operation of said movable contact arm, said control bar upon deenergization of said electromagnetic means moving within said open ended container to an opposite position preparatory to again moving said open ended container in an opposite direction to efi'ect an alternate position of y said movable contact arm.

SVEN FREDRIK ERHARD MEYER.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,288,542 Harrison June 30, 1942 2,309,953 Harrison Feb. 2, 1943 2,491,075 Belsky Dec. 13, 1949 2,545,669 Meyer Mar. 20, 1951- FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 86,754 Sweden Mar. 8, 1935 171,494 Switzerland Nov. 16, 1934 

